Spiders
by Nargle006
Summary: One-shot about Ron and why he is scared of spiders...


**This is written for The Hunger Games Style Harry Potter Competition-y ****_Thing_****. A one shot about how Ron became scared of spiders...**

* * *

"Ron!" bellowed Mrs Weasley "Tea's ready!" A three year old boy with a shock of ginger hair came stumbling into the kitchen, looking around nervously. His mother shook her head fondly at him. "Come on, tea's on the table, go and sit next to Daddy." Ron nodded and shuffled over to the chair.

His older twin brothers, Fred and George were eating quickly, trying to get away from the table before he spotted the insect on the table. Their father glanced over at them, before going back to the rubber duck he was holding. Percy, as usual, had his head in a book and was trying to eat and read at the same time. He glanced down at the table and shuddered slightly.

"Mum, there's a spider on the table." At this, Ron stiffened and went white.

"S-s-spider?" Percy looked at him oddly and nodded. Ron let out a small scream and ran from the room.

"What was all that about?" asked Charlie. Shrugging, Bill returned to his tea. Naturally, all eyes found their way to Fred and George. They looked at each other, before deciding that they weren't hungry anymore and leaving. Or attempting to leave, anyway. Charlie and Bill each caught one of their younger brothers and sat them back down.

"What did you do?" Eyes narrowed, Mrs Weasley advanced, ladle in hand. Both boys looked down. They really didn't like it when their mum went into shouting mode.

"I may have accidently...umm...turned Ron's teddy bear into a spider." Fred's voice got higher as he finished the sentence.

"YOU DID WHAT?" Every single Weasley at the table cowered under her rage. There was a sniff as Ginny started to cry. She was bounced up and down on Mr Weasley's lap as he tried to quieten her down.

"Should I run?" asked Fred. His mother nodded. He took off, out of the door. "Thanks for letting me borrow your broom George!" He whizzed around the garden, his mother chasing after him with a ladle. His twin looked up, unsurprised.

"What's wrong with his own?" frowned Percy.

"That's a good question..."

* * *

**That morning**

"Has anyone seen my toy broom?" hollered Fred. Ron looked up nervously from his teddy. His five year old brother came storming in. "Ron?" He gulped and held his teddy. He was hunting high and low for it. George happened to spot that Ron was sitting in front of the plant pot. He nudged Ron out of the way.

"Found it!" The broom was broken in two, and had hastily been stuffed behind the plant.

"RON!" Fred rounded on his brother. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" The little boy squeaked and shuffled backwards.

"A-accident. Didn't m-mean t-t-to..." He clutched his teddy to him. Then he promptly dropped it again. It had too many legs. And it was moving.

"AARGH!" He ran from the room. The spider was thrown outside by George. the twins looked at each other. For the first time, their faces split into identical, evil grins.

* * *

**Back to the present**

"So you see Dad, it wasn't really his fault, it was Ron's." finished George. the door slammed open and his mother stormed in, dragging Fred by the ear.

"Ow, ow, ow! Mum, you're hurting me!" Percy sniggered behind his book. George took credit for the bruise on his leg the next day. Bill and Charlie somehow managed to keep straight faces. Mr Weasley looked from Fred, to George, to Mrs Weasley then said.

"We'll leave you to it."

* * *

**9 years later**

Ron shuddered as he spotted the spiders in the corridor. Harry and Hermione were bent over them. How could they do that? His brother's scowling face loomed up in his mind. He couldn't remember how he'd broken the broom, only stuffing it in the plant pot. For weeks after that episode, the twins had made a point of hiding spiders everywhere that they could.

Ron still wasn't sure whether his older brother had forgiven him.

* * *

**Five years after that**

Ron knelt down next to the grave. It wasn't fair. Why Fred? Why not anybody else? George wasn't the same. Neither was Ginny, come to think of it. His mum had accidently yelled at George and called him Fred, then broken down into tears. He sighed. The family was slowly falling apart. They just couldn't see it yet. He placed a hand on the tombstone. This is what he'd come out for.

"Fred, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break your broom, or get you yelled at. It's my fault mate. It's all my fault..." His voice trailed off. Then, a whisper rose from the ground.

"I forgive you...git." Ron broke into quiet laughter, tears running down his face. It sounded like him, but surely it couldn't have been real. Could it?

"Thanks."


End file.
